Wildlife authorities in the Philippines say they have captured a 21-foot-long, 2,370-pound saltwater crocodile, thought to be the largest creature of its kind now in captivity.

The croc was captured in Agusan del Sur marsh on the southern Philippine island of Mindinao, according to a report on GMA News. Hunters had been trying to capture it for 21 days, the report said. It was finally captured on Saturday by a team of about 30 men who used meat to bait it and an eight millimeter metal cable to snare it, according to an Agence-France Presse report on ABS.CBN News.

Edwin Cox Elorde, mayor of the remote town ofÂ Bunawan near where the croc was caught, said the reptile will become the star of a nature park there, according to the AFP report.

The previous largest crocodile in captivity is an 18-footer in Australia, according to Guinness World Records.

Crocodiles are suspected in the deaths of a local fisherman earlier this year and a girl a few years ago, according to the news reports, but authorities could not sayÂ whether the monster caught Saturday was responsible.

Cox Elorde told Inquirer news in the Philippines that there could be a thousand more large crocodiles in the marsh, but he denied earlier reports that locals would try to catch another.

He also said the croc captured Saturday has been named Lolong, after local hunter Ernesto â€śLolongâ€ť Conate, who died of a stroke while helping plan the capture of the reptile.

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Poor poor Phillppines?

Off-topic, but I've noticed a few referrences above concerning how poor the Philippines are. While Standard & Poors (S&P) was busy downgrading America's credit rating, S&P upgraded the Philippines credit rating. Currently there are several nations in Africa, even sub-Saharan nations, that enjoy better S&P credit ratings than California does. But those are just ratings. The genuine measuring stick is a nations punlic debt to gross domestic production ratio. (how much you owe vs. how hard you are busting your ass to pay debt) If the USA were located in Europe, our debt to domestic production ratio would keep US from even being considered to join the EU. (european Union) Turkey, a nation most American's laugh at, has a much better ratio than we do! Debt does not make rich...Debt makes future poor.

The Phillipines credit rating was upgraded to BB+which is S&P's highest speculative grade (hence not even considered investment grade). The USA has a credit rating of AA which represents a very strong capacity to meet financial commitments. The Phillipines has a GDP of 161.2 Bln dollars as compared to the US GDP of 14.12 Trln, or roughly 1% of the US and that results in a per capita GDP of $1700 or roughly 3% of that enjoyed in the US, meaning the Phillipines is in fact poor compared to the United States. The reason the US can be so heavily leveraged and still maintain a AA rating is because people believe that as a nation the US can still produce enough to cover it's (admittedly excessive) debt. Please stop cherry picking facts and statistics to bash the US debt situation on a story about big crocodiles.

I get a kick out of you tree huggers saying tag it and release it back into the wild. This thing is in the Philippines, not Pennsylvania. What do you suppose they track it with, the local idiot who will then follow it around all day? These people, this country, is beyond broke, and you want them to use technology they don't have or buy technology they can't afford to track a reptile? Get real. Turn this thing into a couple hundred handbags and move on.

I think it's sick that they will get to keep it as a sideshow attraction. People always say "People > Animals", and how is that fair in any way?

Hell, at least if a man murders a man he gets locked up. If a man abuses a child, he is seen as a satan. But then when a man abuses a poor defenseless cat or a puppy, no action is taken. When a man kills a bear or lion that was just defending itself or its babies, no action is taken.

It's a sick, disgusting, and vile thing that happens with these poor animals. They don't start wars, they don't invent weapons of mass murder, and hell, they were on the planet before we were.

And this is coming from a non-hippie, non-"animal rights activist", meat eating American.
So this isn't coming from some biased hippie, I am saying this from a BL point of view.

ITS A FREAKING ANIMAL! ALL OF YOU THAT ARE SOO CARING ABOUT FREAKING ANIMALS – WHERE ARE YOU FOR OTHER HUMAN BEINGS? You are probably the same tree huggers that I see laughing at homeless people, complaining about HUMAN BEINGS on welfare "spending your hard earned tax dollars", etc. Put PEOPLE first and the rest will follow.

A 21 foot croc is far from being "poor and defenseless". Still, better that it be displayed at the local zoo to help the local economy, which has a much better monetary return than some handbags, belts and shoes.

Who cares about other humans as well. Care for your family, friends, and yourself first all while showing common respect for those you don't know around you. Doesn't mean you have to bend over backwards and give to people you don't know every time they have a misfortune. Self, family, and friends first.

u gotta remember. as a race we are in a constant struggle for dominance. For the people of the phillipines what better way to show prowess that control over nature? There really isnt anything else there. We can say all we want about animals deserve better and this and that. No one really cares. I think its sickening what they did... but they are human and humans are sick creatures.

and coming from someone closer to the what happened, that croc killed a water buffalo and is suspected both of being the same croc who killed a little girl who fell out of a boat while crossing a river to go to school and a missing fisherman awhile back. we do have animal rights laws here... otherwise, that would have been on the whole village's dinner table already with quite a few wearing it on their pant-loops.

wild animals are largely left alone in most local villages... unless they get too close and endanger the people.

If it really is a man-eater and they want to keep it in captivity and it can stand the repugnant taste, we have plenty of tea-baggers we can feed it. They are a nuisance to the American society just as the croc is a nuisance to their society.

This animal creature is just any other animals...dogs are put to sleep, when necessary...chickens/hens, pigs, cows, turkeys are slaugtered for us, people, to eat and live. Just kill this monster (long before the monster eats another human being)!!!!

Ok, I know a lot of Phil people and I have been to Phil myself more than once. Perhaps the country itself is not poor but the people are, at least the vast majority of them. Even still, they are great people. They are people that may not have much money but are far more rich than the majority of Americans in love and family values. They do not go dump there mother in a nursing home the first chance they get and then forget about her. They take care of one another to the best of their ability.

Now, secondly, after defending them like that, the Phil people, well, the are who they are. That Croc doesn't have a snowballs chance. That thing will be cut up and ate long before it sees a zoo.

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